Of Paratrooper and Fallchirmjäger
by aeducaanwrites
Summary: It wasn't her first choice by any means, but it was her only choice. The story of a young woman's sacrifice to protect her father from a mad man's war. Co-authored with Kattyb101
1. Prologue

The first thing to know about Vera Dietrich is that she does not share the same ideals as Herr Hitler and his Nazi Germany. She had lived through the aftermath of the last war, seen how it torn the country apart, but she did not subscribe to the belief that a fascist dictator was the only way to return Germany to its former glory. She was only in this predicament because she was an only child. When Germany's call to arms began and able-bodied men were being picked from their homes to fight Hitler's war, Vera had nothing to worry about. That relief soon turned to grief as the demand for more soldiers increased, because of the growing opposition that came from fighting on two-fronts. With more and more people being conscripted, whether they were able-bodied or not, she feared that they would look at conscripting her father into service.

Herr Dietrich had fought his way through the Great War, the trench warfare ate him, spat him out and he barely made it out alive. Now, he was still broken from his fighting days and this was only made worse due to poor living conditions. Something as small a minor cut turned lethal because of infection. There was no way in hell Vera was going to let him be pulled into another war.

One of the things that she would never forget was the story of the Christmas ceasefire; it was one of the only things her father ever told her about his time at war. To know that such an amazing act of kindness could happen between enemies was something that she felt helped to make her a better person. She knew she would have to do what she could to help a person in need. And when that person was her father… she would do just about anything. Vera knew what she had to do to keep her father out of danger – it was something so crazy that she couldn't even comprehend what she was doing, but she felt as though she had no other choice. To help one in need.

For Vera, it was almost like she was having an out of body experience, just going through the motions of changing her appearance, creating a new identity and going through rigorous training. She knew she wasn't the most masculine girl out there, she played the odd sport here or there, but other than that there was no way that she could see herself being a soldier. And yet here she was, serving in the military for the madman who wanted to conquer Europe. She made it through basic training with a bruised ego from the constant barrage of insults from the instructors, only to be swept up into the world of an elite unit; the fallschirmjäger. An infantry unit that threw themselves out of airplanes.

From Africa, Italy, France, Holland and now Belgium, Vera had killed and helped kill men who were only doing their best to stop a crazed man. As much as she too wanted the Herr Hitler stopped, she knew she had to follow along, not for her own safety, but in order to keep her father safe from all the madness.

The first time she saw time in the terrors of war was in Africa back in 1942, holding off the British from taking back precious terrain from both the German and Italian forces. By 1943, she was rear guarding the German retreat from invading allied forces in Sicily before taking part in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. After Monte Cassino, the higher ups in the German military knew of an impending attack in France– and decided to add more divisions to the ones that were already stationed there.

Since that faithful day on June 6th, the fighting had been non-stop. It was a never ending uphill battle with American, British and Canadian forces. At the back of her mind, Vera couldn't be happier. This fighting meant that it was only matter of time before the Third Reich would fall and this nightmare would be over.

Vera wished that 'matter of time' was sooner rather than later, however, especially considering the situation she found herself in now – in the woods freezing her tits off, just to scout ahead of the town they were held up in.

So far all Vera had found during her scouting was trees, more trees, and. believe it or not, even more trees. She shrugged her grey greatcoat closer to her shivering body. What she would give just for the proper winter equipment that most of the men in Foy possessed. Not only was she freezing, but the scouting was probably the most useless thing she could be doing with her time at this moment. It was a known fact that the Americans were squatting out in the woods – just waiting for a crack in the German defenses so they could strike. As miserable as she was, she had to admit the idea of having to squat down in the woods while being bombarded by artillery shells wasn't exactly at the top of her bucket list.

She had to give it to the Yankees, it took balls to do what they were doing.

"Hey Lieutenant, don't venture off too far, wouldn't want you to be killed by some playboy American." One of the Aryan blowhards shouted at her from several meters behind. She waved off his warning, not taking it seriously by any means. They were nowhere near the area that their artillery had been shelling, and the Americans would have to be completely insane to venture this far.

As she trudged through the snow she could only think about what she would give to be home right now, warm and safe away from the fighting and the chaos. Where she could be celebrating Christmas with her family and not celebrating it by having people shoot at her. The only thing running through her mind at this point in time was eating her mother's homemade cooking, that and quenching the biggest thirst for beer that she's ever had in her life.

Hell at this point in time, even just not having to live a constant lie would be nice. She wished she could just come out and say that she was a member of the fairer sex even to just one person. There was no way that could end poorly, right? She had formed a kind of camaraderie with some of the men, surely that had to mean something.

Vera let out a heavy breath as she continued on her path. She couldn't tell anyone, she knew that, but it was nice to dream every once in a while. Instead, she would have to appreciate this chance she had alone. Maybe it wasn't as freeing as telling someone who she really was, but at least she didn't have to pretend to be someone else as she wandered out of the sight and earshot of her fellow German soldiers.

With this bit of freedom, she hopped over a log and looked up at the canopy of trees above her, enjoying the sight of snowflakes floating down from the sky. Vera tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and stuck her tongue out. There was so little time for such innocent pleasures in the time of war, such as catching snowflakes on ones' tongue. When she tipped her head back just a little too far, her helmet slipped off and landed on the ground, the sound of a thud snapped her out of her small piece of heaven. Her blue eyes slowly opened and she ran a hand through her sandy blond hair, letting out a soft sigh before moving down to one knee.

Vera had just picked up her helmet and place it upon her head when out of nowhere a dozen American soldiers jumped out from behind trees, their weapons aimed down at her. She slowly placed her MP40 down on the snowy ground while her other hand slowly rose up, an attempt to show that she meant them no harm. They shouted out a command at her and she could vaguely understand what it was they said but she didn't move to comply.

"I said step away from the weapon!" The man repeated and still she just stayed put, trying to convey that even if they had her out numbered and unarmed that they would not and could not bully her.

"Where the hell is Liebgott when you need him? Someone go find him." One of the soldiers ran off in one direction. Vera watched him go, trying to memorize which direction he was going, if only to avoid that direction all together next time, if she lived to see a next time. A hand came up viciously twisting her head in the other direction, tearing her eyes away from the fleeing man. Meanwhile, another hand reached into her jacket to pull her Luger out of its holster and hand it off to another man.

"I'll be taking that back." The German promised. To them it must have sounded like she was threatening to rip his throat out, because the moment she said it, guns raised once again and they all looked like they were going to shoot her. A man, whose brutish size reminded Vera of a bear stepped forward, grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and roughly hauled her to my feet. The brute shoved her forward, sending her helmet flying off her head once again.

She fell forward and barely caught herself by grabbing a nearby tree. "You don't have to be so rough, you brute." She snarled before attempting to reach out for the discarded helmet. Several hands reached out and stopped her. Fighting against their hold, she reached out for the helmet one last time before a body crashed into hers – lifting them both into the air then slamming them both into the frozen ground. If she could have predicted the future and known that would have happened, she wouldn't have struggled against their grasp, but sadly she couldn't and now she was paying for it. Vera tried to push the body off of her, but the group of American soldiers had no trouble overpowering her and the last thing she remembered was the butt of a rifle colliding with the side of her skull.

* * *

When Vera's eyes finally fluttered open, she was graced by the sight of dozens upon dozens of American soldiers walking about. It was in that moment that she knew she was in big trouble. She knew how a situation like this would go, constant interrogation for any intelligence that would give the Americans an advantage in pushing the German troops out of the town of Foy.

"Looks like sleeping beauty is finally awake." She turned her head toward the voice, trying to convey that she was not afraid of the interrogator. Despite this display, she was beyond a little afraid. She was terrified about what lay in store for her.

Another man stepped forward, a tall slender man with red hair and freckles that covered his face. He was clearly the one in charge, seeing as everyone beside him stopped and waited for him to speak. "Liebgott, ask him about what sort of opposition the German's have in Foy."

The skinny man in the group turned towards her and repeated the demand in rough, but passable German.

Vera gathered up the access saliva in her mouth and spat it at the red head's feet. As much as she hated what Germany's army was fighting for, she was not about to betray her men and be responsible for countless deaths.

Her head snapped to the side as a fist hammered into the corner of her mouth. Vera tasted metal as blood pooled in her mouth. She slowly turned her head back towards the translator and the ringleader of this whole ordeal and spat the blood from her mouth at them.

"What do the Foy defenses consist of?"

Once more the skinny man translated.

Once more she refused to reply and another blow struck her.

"When do the German's plan on attacking next?" Before the skinny translator had a chance to utter the translation, Vera opened her mouth.

"Fuck you." Her heavily accented taunt drew no response and she found herself anticipating another blow that would bring even more pain. However, this time it wasn't a fist impacting her jaw, but a hand enveloping the top of her head and thrusting it forcibly into the pole behind her. Stars swarmed her vision, as she fought against the darkness that threatened to consume her vision.

"Captain Winters, Colonel Sink is requesting to speak with you."

The tall red head turned and addressed the man next to him. "Lipton, I want rotating guard shifts for the prisoner. Looks like he'll be staying longer than anticipated." He left after that, and so did most of the others. All except one; the one who had kept striking her was seated only a meter away, glowering at her.

Vera moved to reach up, wanting to wipe away the blood on her chin, but she quickly found she wasn't able to. Her arms were securely bound around the pole behind her, stopping her from moving them too far. She tried to move her legs but they too were bound tightly. So, much for hospitality.

Great. Not only was she stuck here but now she couldn't even wipe the filth away from her face.

Unable to move, Vera took the time to finally observe her surroundings. Destroyed trees littered the area around her, and that meant that sooner or later she was going to face the considerable force of German artillery. The thought of that petrified her. Sure these men had to face this barrage day in and day out, but at least they could run, at least they had a chance. She was stuck in one spot, unable to run away to find cover if a shell happened to drop nearby. Her breathing became erratic and her eyes became wild as she realized she might die tied to this pole. The man watching over her easily noticed the change in the prisoner and it brought a sneer to his face.

"Aw, is the fuckin' Kraut scared? Too fuckin' bad!" He kicked snow in her direction and just laughed as the snow hit her in the face.

Why hadn't she heeded the Private's warning? If she had remained close to the group, she wouldn't have found herself in this mess, captured by the Americans and awaiting her fate.

* * *

 _We really hope you guys like this story, and hope to hear what you guys think. Our plan for updating this story is going to be post a new chapter as we finish the following chapter, that way we'll always be a chapter ahead. Please stay patient with us, and we hope you guys enjoy reading._


	2. Blood Stained Trousers

As Vera sat tied to the pole, she let out a continuous string of curses in German just under her breath. She hadn't expected this morning to be a pleasant one by any standards, after all who found pleasure in being shot at while waiting to freeze to death? Still, that had to be better than where she was now, tied up as an American prisoner, waiting for them to figure out her secret.

"Hey, Private. I'm here to replace you." Another voice filled the air, interrupting her cursing. Vera looked up, her eyes narrowing at the newcomer as he looked at her. She recognized the man as one from the group that had captured her in the first place. The man had red hair with a matching scruffy beard. His face, just like every other hardened soldier, was worn from battle, but there was still a certain kindness in his eyes. The war hadn't taken that away from him. At least not yet.

"Thank God you're here, Mal. This Kraut has been muttering under his breath for the last half an hour, I wasn't sure how much longer I could listen." Her guard said, standing up and patting the new man on the shoulder. "Have fun." Vera watched the man as he left the tent and headed in the direction she had figured their camp was in. Not that that information really helped her now.

"Hey. Hey, you." She heard the new guard speaking to her after a while, but she didn't look in his direction. Her focus was still on looking for a way out. "Uh, sprec- sprechen sie English?" The man said in even rougher German than the translator earlier.

"Nein." Vera breathed out before turning to actually look at him again. A heavy sigh escaped him as though he had been expecting this to be easy. He should have known better than to hope for that. That was not enough to deter him though.

"Okay, um… your Luger. Um, the gun," the American paused to mimic firing a pistol. "Your Luger, do you remember," the man pointed to his head a few times. "Who took it?"

" _Why would I tell you?_ " She asked in German causing the man's brow to instantly furrow. " _I will be taking it back for myself_." Vera scoffed at the clueless American. If he actually thought that she was going to act it out for him, especially considering she was tied to the post still, he was sorely mistaken.

"Um," he took a heavy breath and Vera just watched him coldly. "It's just… Mein brother…. Little brother," the man held his hand at a low height. "I told him I would bring him one." The man shrugged awkwardly, unsure if the captive understood any of what he was trying to convey. But still, Vera's expression softened slightly. She not only could understand what it was he was trying to say, she also understood doing something for family. Perhaps his was a much smaller gesture than her own had been, but it was still for his family.

"I do not know." Vera finally said slowly in English. "It was all very fast and then I was knocked out" The man stared at her, mouth gaping a little as she spoke. Even when she had finished speaking, it took him a moment to recover and respond.

"You can understand me? This whole time you could speak English?"

She shrugged a shoulder, not able to do much else. "Only little."

"So, when I was looking like an idiot…" As the man spoke, a smirk split on her face. "That's what I thought." He chuckled awkwardly.

"I am tied up; I need… entertainment somehow." Vera chuckled now as well, relaxing ever so slightly. As a silence settled between them, however, she grew serious once again. "What is with you Americans and Lugers?"

"They're an officer's sidearm so it's a good…" The man hesitated for a moment, remembering he was talking to a German soldier. "It's a trophy." He finally said and Vera let out a soft scoff, that reaction made the American bristle a little. "Hey, I've heard plenty of stories about German soldiers. I don't exactly think you have the right to act high and mighty."

The woman opened her mouth, ready to respond with some biting remark, but she found none. Her mouth closed again and she looked down at the ground next to her. It was war, no one was truly honorable. This time, the silence that settled between them felt heavy.

"Your Bruder, erm, brother…" She started slowly, gauging him for a reaction, seeing if he even wanted to continue to speak to her. "How old is he? What is he like?"

"Um, he's just a kid, really." The redhead said, setting his chin down on his knees. She was almost relieved that he wanted to keep talking. "Far too young to get dragged into this mess, thankfully. He's a good kid, a little too good almost." He paused for a moment, lost in a thought, before continuing. "My other brother, however, he's a pain in the ass and he knows it." The man laughed softly as he sat up. "What about you? Do you have any family?"

"Just my mother and my father." She closed her eyes, thinking of home once again. Even now, in the position she was in, she couldn't find any regret for what she had done. "I came to fight so he would not have to." Her brow furrowed, realizing she might have slipped up and what she said might have sounded odd. "At least one man per household must serve, yes?" The other man nodded in understanding.

"Do you miss them?" He asked, making the woman raise her brow.

"Do you miss your family?"

"Fair point… it was a stupid question." He laughed softly as he scratched his head. "I'm Donald Malarkey. What's your name?"

"Tobias Dietrich. And that is all you will get out of me, Yankee." She said, a smirk on her face once more. "Your questioning will not break me."

"Ah well, it was worth a shot." The man sighed holding back another laugh. A few moments passed before he opened his mouth to speak again. Before he could say anything, however, the sound of artillery filled the air. Both Vera and Donald flinched, but the shelling was further down the line from them.

" _Great, this is just what I was afraid of_." Vera grumbled in German, drawing her knees in closer, hoping to make herself a smaller target in case the shelling moved towards them. She closed her eyes and continued muttering to herself until the noise had died down.

"Now you know how it feels…" Donald said a minute later, still tense from the shelling. In a moment, he was moving to her side. "Alright, Tobias, we're going to move you somewhere a little more covered. It won't do us any good for us to have a dead prisoner." He said as he began to work on the knot keeping her in place. "Just remember, I do have a gun and you are still a prisoner."

"How could I have forgotten?" She asked. Her eyes darted around them as she looked for what could be a possible escape route. Despite his threat, the minute he untied her, she would run and somehow find her way back to the German line. Or get shot in the process.

"You gave them a bit of a fight earlier so… I wouldn't put it past you." The American muttered as he finished untying the rope. "Alright, let-" The sound of artillery returned only louder this time. It seemed as though the Germans had readjusted their aim. "We need to go!" He yelled, grabbing her arm, ready to run to safety. Vera struggled to get to her feet, her legs a little weak from how she had been sitting. The momentum from him racing off with a firm grasp on her arm, matched with the loss of feeling in her lower limbs almost sent Vera flying face first into the frigid powder. Thankfully she was able to keep her balance, for the American wasn't slowing down for anything - certainly not for some German officer.

Explosions rained around both soldiers, snapping the towering trees like twigs; sending large pieces of debris in all directions. The shelling drowned out the screams of terror, and the screeches of pain from a wounded soldier having a limb impaled or blown off. Out of nowhere both American sergeant and German lieutenant were blown off their feet, an artillery shell impacting into the frozen ground not to far from them. The shockwave was still enough to send them flying back, however, slamming Vera into a nearby tree.

Vera half groaned, half gasped as she tried to catch her breath, the impact had knocked the wind out of her leaving a pain in her chest. Thankfully, that was the worst of it.

When she finally felt like she could breathe again, she reached up to lightly grab her head, the ringing in her ears was blocking out the sounds of the chaos around her. Vera looked over at the motionless body next to her, the whole world a blurry mess. She rapidly blinked, willing to make her eyesight clear once again. She rolled over onto her stomach sluggishly and groaned once again. The young German took a moment before pushing herself up with unsteady arms. Her brows furrowed in concentration before pushing her body to stand up.

Not even a moment later Vera crumbled over onto the still body of the man named Donald Malarkey. She lay there momentarily, wishing for the nausea and the spinning to stop. The woman took a deep breath and looked over both their forms, noting the absence of blood. She rolled off the limp form and reached for the closest helmet, not caring that it had giant white spades plastered on both sides. All that mattered now was that she had something to protect her head.

With one last look at the incapacitated man, Vera took off in the direction that seemed to be the most plausible way back to Foy. That said; it would be proven difficult as the trees were identical, and the danger of the shelling also complicated things. Before being captured, the idea of shelling the enemy was a sound one that she hadn't really been bothered by, but now being on the receiving end she realized just how effective it was. The experience was terrifying and she could only imagine how badly it affected morale. The explosions thundered in her ears as the maneuvered around the various man made holes with Americans cowering in them to protect themselves from the splintering trees around them. As Vera made it past the first few foxholes, the yells of fear became shouted orders as the men noticed the German soldier run by. The Screaming Eagles must have had no intention of letting a Nazi officer escape on their watch and relay any intel he may have gathered back to Foy, because not soon after gunfire broke out and bullets dug into the ground and trees around her.

Just then, a tree next to the young German officer exploded, sending splintered pieces of wood soaring in every direction. Vera yelled out as one wayward piece of wood pierced into her flesh, sticking out of her shoulder. The pain caused her to trip up and stumble forward onto her knees, the jagged frozen ground digging into her legs. Vera fought the urge to kneel in place and fuss over the shrapnel embedded in her flesh, she knew the more time she took doddling - the chances of being recaptured only increased. She pushed herself away from the ice-encrusted ground, and willed herself forward, away from the dangers of the artillery and the American soldiers. The young woman pumped her legs as hard as she could, the only thing pushing her will to escape was the thought of being able to have the chance to see her mother and father again. Because of this, she tore through the wintery maze quickly. Just not quick enough. As she reached the snowy crest of the hill, a sharp crack rang through the woods surrounding her; fiery pain engulfed her calf - causing her to topple down the other side of the hill.

Vera let out a scream of pain as she landed; the wooden shrapnel that was sticking out of her shoulder was pushed deeper into her flesh. No doubt the splintered wood causing even more damage as it viscerally cut through the tissue. As she attempted to right herself, Vera hissed in pain, the throbbing in her right leg only getting worse. Blood bloomed out of the hole in her trousers, staining the dark grey fabric crimson. The thundering sounds of artillery ceased, letting her hear the shouts of American soldiers in the vicinity. Vera cursed as she placed the helmet back on her head and pushed herself upright - doing her best to fight the agonizing pain in her leg. She would rather be in excruciating pain than be recaptured by the enemy at this point. The young German hobbled painfully through the moderately deep snow, a trail of red staining the fluffy white ground.

Vera refused to look back.

* * *

"Scheiße." Vera cursed. The area around her now showed no sign of life. The snow was untainted, untouched by either armies. The trees were whole and standing tall, the shells having not obliterated their grandeur yet. She spun around trying to find any sort of familiar markers, anything to point her in the direction to Foy. There was nothing. She huffed in frustration and tore the helmet off her head. She finally noticed the spades painted on the sides and rolled her eyes. Figures she'd pick up the wrong helmet along with everything else. She plopped it down on the snow and sat on it, needing a moment to rest. She gingerly stretched out her leg in front of her, turning it to get a better look at the wound. The fabric clinging to it obscured her view of the damage done and so she cautiously rolled up her pant leg. The skin was pierced in the back of her calf and was most likely lodged in the bone or muscle - as there was no exit wound. Vera reached down and halted her movement when her shoulder pulled painfully.

" _Christ."_ She growled in pain. She huffed repeatedly and reached up. With another few breaths, she ripped the giant shard of wood out of her shoulder. "Gah!" The piece of wood was pulled free, followed by a steady flow of blood. Vera patted down her jacket pockets, searching for an aid kit or anything that would help with stopping the bleeding.

" _Right they took everything from me…"_ She hesitated for a moment before working the long, heavy coat off her frame, carefully maneuvering it over her injured shoulder. She dropped the jacket on the ground and shivered, the cold air biting her. Next, she took her fatigue jacket off and her undershirt soon followed. If anyone had walked by at that moment, they would have been stunned beyond belief to see a German soldier, nay a woman posing as a soldier, with no shirt on. Vera sat there shivering as she struggled to undo the binding that flattened her chest.

It was better to risk being discovered then dying in this icy hell.

The pin that kept the bandage snuggly tied finally gave away, and the cloth unraveled easily, releasing her breasts from its clutches. Another violent shudder shook her to the core, her exposed skin not agreeing with the chilly Bastogne air. With the bandage in her hands now, Vera pulled the undershirt back over her head as quickly as her shoulder allowed. Soon her fatigue jacket followed suit, doing little to stop her chattering teeth as another smaller shiver ran through her. She grabbed the bandage in both hands and pulled, but her arm seized up painfully from the sudden tug. _"Fuck!"_ She immediately dropped the cloth from her grasp. With teeth clenched together, she placed the bandage under her foot and pulled with her uninjured arm, causing the worn bandage to rip half. The snapping of the bandage caused Vera to tumble backwards off the helmet. She let out a cry as her leg bent under her, causing her weight to push down on the wound.

" _Son of a bitch."_

Vera rolled over quickly to relieve her leg from any more unnecessary pain, still gasping slightly. She took one of the ripped pieces of cloth and hastily wrapped around the bloody calf, tightly tying off the ends. She groaned at the snug fit, but knew that was for the best. She reached a little ways to grab the other snow-covered bandage and reached across her body to cover the medium sized hole in her shoulder. She placed one end in her mouth and wrapped the rest around her shoulder and across her back to finally tie both ends across her chest. Vera moved her arm to test the bandage and let out a small whimper. As minimalist as the patch jobs was, they would have to do until she could get back to Foy and the medics look over her. Being discovered be damned. Then again, none of it mattered unless she could get out of this frozen wasteland - and find some sort of shelter.

The young blond woman struggled to right herself before reaching over and pulling the American helmet towards her. A small smile cracked across her pained face, the thought of her running around with his helmet while some American was forced to run around with hers. Even in a time of chaos and horror, it was amazing how such a small thing could be found to be amusing.

* * *

 **That's it gang, tell us what you think!**


	3. Lost

There was a darkness setting in the woods now as night was beginning to fall. If Vera had thought it was cold earlier, it was nothing compared to now. She needed some kind of shelter for the night otherwise she was just as likely to freeze to death as she was to bleed out. Both fates she wanted to avoid.

She stopped walking for a moment so she could get a better look at her surroundings, once more looking for any sign that would help her get back to Foy. There was nothing in her immediate vicinity except for the still pristine trees still around her. In the distance, on the other hand, she could see a few shattered trees indicating that the area had been shelled at one time or another. She chewed on her lip, trying to decide if it was worth the risk. With a sigh, she began trudging in the direction of the fallen trees. There was nothing else she could do, she could only hope that the Americans that had been in the area had already moved on by now.

Vera's feet caught beneath her and she stumbled, barely managing to catch herself on one of the nearby trees. She let out a soft gasp as her shoulder throbbed from the impact. Her fingers gripped the rough bark tightly as she took a moment to regain herself. The world around her was still outside of the snow that had begun drifting from the sky once again and she heard nothing to indicate the presence of other people so she let herself relax a little. With the area being abandoned, she could focus on finding a foxhole she could spend the night in and deal with finding Foy tomorrow.

Finally, she pushed away from the tree as she made her way further into the clearing of broken trees. The ground seemed to be relatively untouched; there had been enough snowfall to begin to cover the signs that an army had been there. It wasn't enough to hide the cuts in the ground of old foxholes. Some of the foxholes still had snow covered branches nearby that had been used to provide some kind of cover for the soldiers that had stayed in them.

Vera chose one that seemed like it would provide decent protection. She slid into the foxhole and pulled the discarded branches back over it. It wasn't much, but it was better than spending the night out in the open. The woman raised her hands to her lips and breathed into them, but the warm air did little to bring life back into her fingers. She reached down to check the bandage on her leg. It was soaked with her blood, but there was nothing that she could do about it until she reached Foy the next day. She groaned in pain and rest her head back against the cold, hard dirt behind her.

/

The constant threat of being out in the middle of the Bastogne woods unaccompanied and, even worse, unarmed constantly loomed over her, causing her to scare at the slightest sound; she was at the mercy of the forest surrounding her. At some point, she wasn't sure whether it was from the loss of blood or simple exhaustion, she had managed to pass out for a few hours until the sound of distant explosions and gunfire roused the German officer. Despite the few hours, her restless slumber had left her more tired than she could've ever imagined and a yawn escaped her.

The light of day filtered through the canopy of pine tree branches that covered the abandoned foxhole. Night had gone and given way to day meaning her time to sit and wait had come and gone and she had to resume her journey back to the German presence that occupied the small town of Foy. Vera reached up to move the branches covering her. The cold had numbed the pain in her arm and leg, but to her misfortune, the quick jostling caused her shoulder to flare up with a vengeance. She let out a loud hiss of pain that was quickly followed up with a moan.

" _I swear to God, if I make it out of here alive I'm settling down and never leaving the house."_

While the idea of sliding into the foxhole to sleep was a great idea last night, it wasn't looking that way anymore. The mere thought of having to climb out of the hole caused the woman to whimper, the pain that would be unavoidable creeping to the forefront of her mind. Vera reached over to snap off a smaller branch from the pine tree, and placed it between her teeth. If she was going to bite down on anything, it wasn't going to be her cheek or tongue. She slowly turned onto her knees and prepared herself, her breaths coming quickly and erratically. With a muffled yell, she dug the toes of her boots into the frozen dirt as much as she could and pushed herself upwards. Simultaneously, her hands gripped the lip of the foxhole as she hauled herself out of it.

Vera rolled away from the hole leaving behind a trail of red from the reopened wounds caused by the aggressive movements. She lay on her stomach, shaking from the sobs that were now escaping her. She was alone and that meant she was free to cry from the pain of her injuries, but also free to cry from all the built up anxiety, fear and dread that consumed her over the past years. The sobs rocked her small frame as snowflakes rained from above, nature's way of trying to comfort her in her time of need - and as much as the sight of falling snow had been a comfort in the past, it did little for her now.

As the snow landed on her cheeks, a part of her wondered if maybe after everything she had been through, maybe it was time to give up. She was lost in the woods and bleeding once again; her situation was not the most promising. And of course, all of this was for a war she wanted no part of in the first place. She was only here to protect her family, and in this moment… she was doing a bang up job of it. Still, the thought of her family made her pull out of her haze once again. It was time to start moving, that was her only chance of ever seeing them again.

Vera closed her eyes to prepare herself before forcing herself away from the frozen ground. Even though she was pushing up with her uninjured arm, she felt another spasm of pain run through her starting from the wound on her shoulder. She gasped softly, feeling faint, but somehow she managed to continue holding herself up. With a few more delicate movements, she eventually got to her feet. Now, if she could just follow the sound of the gunfire, maybe she could find her way back to Foy.

Either that or she was going to die alone in the frozen hell of the Ardennes.

She preferred the first option.

With a heavy breath, she began to shamble through the woods, taking care to not put too much weight onto her wounded leg. Despite her attempts, there was still searing pain with every step she took and she could feel herself getting weaker. Vera wasn't sure how much longer she would last at this point. The sounds of explosions and gunfire became louder as she walked and that told her she was moving in the right direction. The German soldier paused to lean against a tree, her brow furrowing as she listened. This wasn't the sound of the small skirmishes that typically occurred throughout the day. What she was listening to now was the sound of a full on battle as far as she could tell. " _Fuck._ " The woman muttered, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do next. She rubbed her brow with the back of her hand, knocking her helmet askew, wiping away the feverish sweat that was beginning to cling to her forehead. Stumbling into the middle of battle would only serve to get her shot again.

By the time the edge of the woods came into sight, the sounds of battle had faded. She rushed ahead as fast as she dared to peer around a tree. Down the hill she saw the town of Foy and relief hit her at the fact that she had gone in the correct direction. There was movement in the town below and she blocked the sun from her eyes so she could see what was happening.

It was a sight to behold, the town that had been in German occupation for so long - was now in utter chaos. Mortar fire rained down from above to prevent the Americans from advancing into the town. An objective that had failed, seeing as many were spotted quickly filling around the buildings; filling upon the struggling German soldiers. Vera leaned onto the tree beside her, a imaginary weight suddenly weighing her down. They had been her ticket to medical attention, with them gone - who's to say she would get any. It was clear that the Americans had taken the Germans by surprise, the abundant amount of infantry and armour were running over themselves to combat the invading force. If the event itself wasn't shocking enough, seeing the running form of an American soldier running past the stunned Germans.

" _Does he have a deathwish?!"_ Vera breathed out, stunned at the daring action she had just witnessed. _"You've got to be kidding me."_ Not even a minute later, and the man had scurried back over the small stonewall and was off to the races.

It was in that moment when Vera knew that the Allied forces would win this war on the backs of men that would risk everything to not let Adolf Hitler's dream of an Aryan world come true. The skirmish in the town of Foy seemed to be over just as quick as it had began as Vera watched the remaining Germans get rounded up and pushed toward the barn - no doubt until the higher ups decided what to with them. Vera could hear the joyful singing strike up as the American men celebrated their most recent victory and she knew it was time for her to get moving.

She pushed herself away from the tree; intent on leaving the area before she could be spotted when a lone shot rang out. The reaction was instantaneous. Vera spun around to see the commotion - what she saw was two groups running off in two separate directions, one towards a building and the other towards her. It was instantly clear that she had been spotted and there was no use in running. She wouldn't be able to escape in her condition and it would only provoke the Americans further if she tried. Mindful of her wounded shoulder, Vera slowly lifted her arms in the air, signaling her surrender. When the men reached her, one roughly pulled both her arms down behind her - the violent nature of the action caused her eyes to well up with tears she refused to shed. A small gasp escaped her before she had the time to bite down on her lips to muffle the sound. The same man who restrained her swiped the helmet off her head.

"That must be Mal's, this is the same Nazi fuck that escaped during the shelling."

A strong shove surprised Vera, causing her to step forward with her bad leg. The leg collapsed under the unwanted weight; sending Vera face first into the snow. She raised her head and spat out the snow that had managed to get in her mouth. The man above her gave an exaggerated sigh and suddenly she felt hands grab her upper arms and haul her back to her feet. The hands gripped her arms more tightly before they began to drag her back towards Foy. As humiliating as being dragged was, it was a load off her leg that had been screaming at her since she rolled out of that damn foxhole this morning.

"How stupid do you have to be to be captured again?" One of the Americans sneered, no doubt thinking she was a moronic fool.

"Pretty stupid if you ask me, I mean you'd have to be if you thought fighting for Ol' Adolf was a good idea."

Vera's eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched at their words. They didn't know the sacrifices she had made to be here in this icy hell. A brief thought of rebelling by roughly shrugging away her good shoulder filled her head, but the thought of getting another hit to the head convinced her otherwise, The drag of shame ended faster than Vera thought it would, she half expected them to haul her ass across Foy like she was their show and tell, as suddenly she was weightless as her body collided with the ground. It was in that while her head was submerged in muddy slush - that she wished that she had made their lives miserable during the short walk to the town.

She pressed up, trying to get her face out of the mud, but this time her shoulder gave out on her. She needed a medic and fast, but the Americans didn't seem to notice. _"Please… I'm wounded."_ She spoke softly and in German as she closed her eyes, trying to not focus on the pain.

"What was that? We don't speak Kraut." Vera heard one of the men say. She managed to move so she was on her back and reached down to grab her pants' leg. At the movement, guns raised to aim at her and there were shouts of warning. She held out her other hand, trying to show she meant no harm, and slowly pulled up her trousers to reveal the bloody bandage wrapped around her calf.

"Help?" She asked in English.

One of the men leaned down to get a better view and let out a low whistle. "Looks like we got you pretty good, Jerry." The man laughed as he stood back up and yelled at one of his fellow soldiers. "Hey, Bull. When Doc's done looking at Perco's ass, can you send him this way?"

"Sure thing, boy." The man called back and walked away at a much slower pace than Vera appreciated. As he left, she gestured to the man near her, getting his attention.

"Also." She spoke little, not wanting them to know just how much English she understood. Instead, Vera pointed at her shoulder so he could see the wound there as well. She knew the moment their medic went to inspect her shoulder, she'd be discovered, but it had to be done.

The man started laughing again. "You're telling me that not only were you stupid enough to get caught twice… but you got yourself hit twice?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he kept talking. "Well, I hoping you're not expecting us to waste any sulfa powder or morphine on you." Vera ground her teeth together and looked around to see the town around her. She saw a line of captured German soldiers being led out of the town. Upon further inspection, she could see a few men she knew from her platoon and she felt a twinge of guilt. It had been her job to lead those men and keep them safe, but she had gotten captured and failed at that. She wasn't sure there was anything she could have done to help save the town of Foy, but she should have been here to try. Her head lowered in shame, not wanting to see the men she had practically abandoned.

"This him?" She heard a few minutes later and she tiredly raised her head again. Approaching them was a man with the medic's cross on his arm and helmet. Relief flowed through her at the thought of finally receiving the medical attention she needed. "Let's see what we've got then." He knelt by her side and slowly pulled away the bandage from her leg. Vera watched the man's face, hoping to get an idea of how bad it might be, but his face remained impassive.

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 **Sorry for the wait, but I hope that it was worth the wait.**

 **Can't wait to hear all your thoughts!**


	4. And Found

The constant probing from the medic was an uncomfortable feeling, but relieving all the same. Just having someone with medical training was a blessing at this point. The medic reached into his medical satchel and pulled out a small pair of medical scissors. Vera's eyes widened, she knew that soon he'd be cutting her uniform and she wasn't just going to just let that happen out in the open where every one of the American soldiers could ogle her when it was revealed she was a woman. Unable to stop herself, she reached over and grasped the man's hand. The reactions around her were instantaneous – rifles and submachine guns were suddenly in her face and angry shouts rose from all around her.

The only thought that ran through her mind now was this is it – this is the end. The medic calmly told the men to stand down as he gently pulled his wrist free from Vera's grip. He regarded her with a pensive look, almost as if he was trying to read her troubled face. "Not here." She whispered, not adding the usual gruffness to her voice. The feminine voice caused the medic to freeze. He stood up rigidly and offered his hand silently. The men looked at both friend and foe in confusion, having not heard what had been said. Vera reached up and firmly grasped the hand in front of her and pulled herself to her feet, making sure to put as little weight as possible on her crippled leg.

The American medic and the German soldier slowly walked away from the group, Vera limping significantly - all the walking finally catching up with her. All the while, the other soldiers kept their weapons trained on her, ready to shoot if the need arose. The process of walking off the muddy street and into an abandoned house was a lengthy one. The bullet wound in her calf painfully pulsing with every step she took, no matter how gingerly it was. Once they reached one of the farm houses, the medic placed the young German on a chair before ushering the other soldiers away from the house.

Their protests fell on deaf ears.

Vera shifted uncomfortably on the chair, partly from the hard wooden surface and partly from being left alone virtually defenceless at the mercy of the enemy medic. The man swung the satchel off his shoulder and onto a nearby table, and pulled out the various supplies that he would be needing. "Uh , miss?" He looked at Vera and her silence was the only confirmation he needed. "If you wouldn't mind removing your, uh, garments." The blush that reddened his cheeks broke the ice, all the tension that once ensnared the room now gone from the American's embarrassment.

"I'll need help with the jackets." Was Vera's only response as she pointed to her bloody shoulder.

The man coughed trying to mask his embarrassment. "Yes, of course."

The process of removing the grey overcoat and green fatigue jacket was somewhat quick with the help of the medic, but that did nothing to help ease the pain of Vera having to fold and bend her arm. To respect her modesty, the man kept her grey undershirt on, but there was still no hiding the fact she was a woman now, especially after she removed her binding to use as a bandage. He cuit some of the fabric around the wound so he could get a better look at what he was working with.

The man worked in silence for a while, concentrating on the task of removing the small wooden splinters from Vera's shoulder, but his curiosity got the better of him. "So, what made a woman like yourself decide to impersonate a man to fight in this war." He asked.

"That is kind of personal don't you think?" She answered, not wanting to go through her reasoning for putting herself through hell everyday.

"I'm just trying to make conversation." He looked up at the woman, still trying to get a read on her. "Do you believe in Hitler's dream that much?" She didn't reply, but she didn't have to. The frown that formed on her face gave the man his answer. He fell back to working in silence and so she suffered in silence. All of a sudden the house door burst open, a soldier backed in through the door with his hands full.

"Hey Eugene, I made you a cup of Jo-" The soldier stopped in his tracks. She recognized him as the man who had been guarding her before, his red hair was hard to miss. Vera reached for her ruined fatigue jacket, clearly intent on covering up the fact that she was a woman as best she could, but that didn't matter now. The man had seen enough.

"Malarkey…" The man known as Eugene started, not wanting everyone to know that prisoner was in fact a woman.

"No way, you're a chick - I mean a Fräulein?"

"Malarkey, you can't let anyone know. I still haven't told Winters." Roe said as he pulled out the final of shrapnel from Vera's mutilated shoulder. The other man watched as he did, still gaping slightly at the woman in front of him.

"I mean, I can go get him for you… but, I mean, wow... The Jerry's have girls fighting for them now?"

"Nein." Vera replied. As far as she knew, she was the only one.

"Maybe get Liebgott as well, we don't know how much English she knows." Doc Roe added, tentatively wrapping a fresh bandage around the woman's shoulder. "And don't talk to anyone about it. I mean it, Don. We don't need this to get out of hand."

The redhead nodded before placing the two metal cups he was holding on a table, before rushing back out the door. The southern medic reached for the small scissors once again, this time intending to cut away the bottom part of her pants. "I'll make sure to find you a new pair of pants too. It wouldn't do you any good walking around in this weather not properly covered up." Vera didn't reply, she was too busy dreading the impending arrival of the officer that Donald was sent to fetch.

The blood soaked pants tore away easily under the duress of the scissors. Roe carefully wiped the blood away from the wound before ripping the top off a sulfa packet with his teeth - pouring the powder into the wound. Vera slightly jumped from the stinging sensation the powder caused, but it was a price she was willing to pay if it kept her healthy.

By the time the door was thrown open again, Vera had pulled her fatigue jacket and grey coat and the doc had begun wrapping up her leg with a bandage. She saw Donald enter once again, but this time he wasn't alone. Entering the barn with him were two men who Vera could recognize from before, when she was still being held captive in the American camp. She saw the skinny man who they had translating for her the other day and the tall red-headed man who she assumed was in charge.

"Hey, it's the Kraut we caught the other day." The skinny man said before spitting on the ground. "How'd that escape go for you?" Vera sneered at him, but the look faltered as she looked at the commanding officer. It wasn't easy knowing her fate lay in his hands.

"Roe, what is the issue?" The man in charge asked as he set his helmet on the table. "Malarkey only said you needed to see me right away." His eyes landed on her causing her to shift uncomfortably from his gaze. The medic finished what he was doing and stood up, wiping his bloody hands on a cloth.

"Captain, this German is a woman." The man said bluntly.

"What?!" The skinny man, who Vera assumed was named Liebgott, exclaimed. "Are you fucking serious? What th-"

"Liebgott." Winters said, his voice just stern enough to make the man stop talking. He was staring at Vera with a crease in his brow. "Ask her why she's doing this."

"Maybe you'll have better luck than I had." The Doc said as he began to gather up his things. "She refused to answer that when I asked." He started towards the door. "I'll find you later to make sure those are healing properly." And with that, the medic left the barn to attend to other soldiers in need. Winters' attention turned back to the small blond woman again as he crouched to her level.

"You speak English then?" She had flinched a little at the closeness, remembering the soldier who had hit her the other day, but his voice had a gentleness that helped her relax slightly.

"Some." Vera muttered as she absently scratched at the bandage on her leg. "Enough that you don't need him and his shit German." She cast a glance at the skinny man. His German wasn't actually that bad, she just wasn't sure that she liked him very much.

"Do the German's know that you're a woman?" He asked. She shook her head in response. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Vera Dietrich." She responded, knowing that keeping her real name from them wouldn't do anything. There was a silence that settled in the barn as he considered the situation.

"Well?" She heard Don ask from where he was standing behind the man. "What are we going to do about this, Captain?"

"We could always trade her back to the Krauts, so she won't be our problem." Liebgott said as glared at her. Vera's eyes went wide and she quickly shook her head.

"Nein!" She answered quickly. "Do not send me back. Please. I am dead if you do."

"Maybe you should have thought of that when you joined Hitler's army." Liebgott spit once more, this time at her feet as an act of spite. "Kraut expects us to feel bad for her? She helped kill our friends. Let her rot for all I care."

"Liebgott, be quiet!" The leader's tone was even sharper now as he stood up to look at his soldier. "Wait outside."

"Sir-"

"Wait outside. I'll call you back in if we need you." The man stopped arguing, but his anger was obvious as he grabbed his gun in a huff and stormed outside of the barn. "I'll ask again," he turned to her, any anger that might have been on his face wasn't visible. "Why did you choose to do this?"

Vera stared at the American captain for a good minute, before her eyes shifted to the other red head in the room. His eyes held nothing but interest at learning why a young German woman who would risk everything to fight, family or not. The sound of a throat clearing pulled Vera's eyes back to the Captain's in front of her.

"You couldn't possibly understand, we live in too different societies." She argued, not wanting to tear away her emotional shields – leaving her unprotected to whatever dangers seeked to harm her.

"You have two options here, Vera. One, you tell us you reason for being here or two you'll leave us no choice but to give you back to the Germans." It was the emptiest threat Vera had ever heard, the man in front of her was seemed unlikely to hurt a fly much less send a woman posing as a man to her death. Even so, anything was possible at this point. It was war after all.

"My father." She muttered softly. Both Donald and the Captain craned closer to hear what she said.

"What does your father have to do with this?" The tall red head asked.

Before she could respond, the other man spoke up. "She told me the other day that each family had to send at least one man to fight." Donald said, finally taking his eyes off of her to look at his commander.

"Yes." She said quickly with a nod. "If I didn't pose as his son, then he would have been forced to fight in another war that would have surely killed him." The silence that filled the room was uncomfortable. She pressed on, trying to get them to better understand. "My mother would have been destroyed; I couldn't live to see her lose the man she loved. I would rather fight for a man that disagreed with my whole being than cause my mother such... _heartbreak_." She said the phrase in German, unable to find the correct word in English.

Both men's heads cocked sideways at the last word and Vera sighed. "When your heart hurts from loss."

"Oh, heartbreak!" Donald chimed in.

The American commander stood up, took off his helmet and fixed his tussled hair. "Let me get this straight, you willingly put yourself at risk for a cause you don't believe, just to keep your father from the war?"

"Ja." She nodded.

"Sir, we can't turn her in. She'd be with POWs, who knows what they'll do to her once they find out." The man's support surprised her, but she welcomed it.

The man in charge sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "She willingly put herself at risk, Don. What would you have me do? I can't dress her up in some farm girl's outfit and drop her off somewhere."

Vera huffed at the idea, with her short hair – there would be no way that she would pass off as some farm girl. "I'll see what I can do, but I'll have to clear it with Sink." The Captain placed his helmet back on his head before turning to leave. He stopped and turned back to Don. "Sergeant, see if you can find a change of clothes for her."

/

Vera sighed for what she believed to be the 100th time; she had been left alone with only the company of the soldier who guarded the door. As if she could possibly escape on her own strength. Luckily or unluckily; depending how you looked at it, the unknown man refused to talk to her – just shot her dirty looks every once in awhile.

" _How long does it take to find a pair of pants?_ " Vera whispered to herself.

"How about you shut up, you dirty Kraut." The man hissed and raised his weapon, clearly uncomfortable with her speaking in the German dialect.

"I was just talking about pants, you schmuck." Vera replied, annoyed how something as little as whispering to herself had her potentially facing a firing squad.

"What did you just call me?" He growled, his grip on his weapon tightening, causing his knuckles to turn white.

Vera snorted in amusement, for she knew he had been told that no harm was to come to her. As much as this lowly Private tried to convince her otherwise.

"A schmuck; it's part of the English vocabulary, yes?"

"Why I oughta…" He began when the door swung open to reveal both red heads once again. The man stopped mid sentence at the sight of the Captain and saluted.

"At ease trooper, I hope our guest didn't cause you too much problems."

"None, sir." He responded stiffly. Vera raised an eyebrow at the blatant lie, before shifting her gaze to the smaller soldier of the three. His arms filled undoubtedly with articles of clothing.

Captain and Private conversed silently between one and other before the private quickly left the house, pleased to be released from the duty of being her babysitter. Donald dropped the bundle of clothing on the table, before sifting through it and procuring a pair of United States Army issued pants and a new fatigue jacket she could wear.

Vera reached out and grabbed the thick green khaki clothes, and hugged them to her chest. She was ready to get out of her the clothes that were sticky from her blood. She pushed herself off the the chair, and slowly hobbled behind a nearby door to change into her new clean pants. As Vera lifted her leg out of the pant leg she fought back a moan, her leg hurt now more than ever – most likely all the walking finally catching up with her. She switched legs and her injured limb buckled under strain, she stumbled forward but caught herself on the way. She let out a yelp of pain.

Two male voices rang out. "Are you okay?"

"Ja." She whimpered before kicking off the offending pant leg. Vera slid down the wall and onto the floor; hoping that this would be a simpler way to put on her pants without causing her more pain and grief. Distracted by her struggle with the pants, she failed to notice the two men silently speaking in the background.

"Don, go see if you can get Eugene to scrounge up some crutches for the girl. If there is anything we can spare."

"Sure thing, sir." Malarkey rushed out of the house to complete his new assignment.

Changing shirts was far easier and so shortly after he disappeared, Vera limped out from behind the door – favouring her uninjured leg. She all but collapsed into her chair when she reached it; her eyes squeezed shut from the pain that enveloped her.

"Alright, Ms. Dietrich," She had almost forgotten that the man was still there. Vera watched as he pulled another chair up to sit across from her. "Let's talk about what you can do for the United States army."


	5. Zero Precedent

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait - as per usual! We would really love to hear your thoughts, either through review, PM or shooting us an ask over at aeducaanwrites on tumblr.

Enjoy!

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"There isn't exactly precedent for this, now is there?" One of the men asked and Vera's head dropped back. The men had been arguing about what to do with her for at least an hour and she was tired. Winters wanted to use her as an asset, at the very least she could be a top tier translator for the Allies. The others… they mostly wanted to leave her behind it seemed.

Captain Speirs, the man who had apparently been the one to run past the German lines, thought that having a woman with any of the Companies would only get men killed. He was worried they'd have to protect her as if she hadn't been in war for years now.

Another man, one Major Strayer, was concerned at how the men, who hadn't exactly had a chance to be with a woman in a while would react to having a woman around at all times. Again, as if she could not take care of herself.

Colonel Sink, who was in charge of the regiment, just didn't like the idea of letting a Nazi roam freely among the men.

The only man on Winters' side, and really her side in the end, was a man with dark, bushy eyebrows by the name of Lewis Nixon. He was the one speaking now. "We don't know what will happen if we do send her back, but we do know that she could have some uses here." The man crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not saying we trust her, but from an intelligence standpoint, she could prove useful." Vera could not even bring herself to smile at the fact he was on her side because something told her it wasn't enough to change their minds.

"No. She's a prisoner, not an asset." The Colonel said, and Vera knew that was the final word on the subject. "She wanted to parade around like any other German soldier, we'll treat her as any other German soldier."

The red-headed man opened his mouth, looking as though he was about to protest, but then he simply nodded. His commanding officer had made his decision. "Yes, sir." Winters finally said. When he looked at Vera, there was something akin to pity in his eyes. A lot of good his pity did her. "We'll put her with the other prisoners then."

When no one stepped forward to escort her away, Vera felt a small amount of hope bubble within her. With none of them making an effort to ship her off to God knows where, maybe they would change their minds. That was until Spears strided up to her; makeshift hand cuffs at the ready - like he had been hoping it would end up with her being imprisoned. The second the rope was tied around Vera's wrists, the feeling of hopeless dread filled her from head to toe. The small shove at her back sent her body into auto pilot, her mind went blank but her legs kept her moving in front of the Captain. The sudden rush of cold air from the outside pulled her out of her daze and thoughts of despair filled her head; would she ever see her beloved parents again? Or would her fellow captives treat her with scorn and mistreat her in the most vile way?

Bile rose in her throat, there was no way that she, Vera Dietrich, was going to rot away in some prison camp like an animal. She stopped abruptly, only to receive a shove that sent her to the ground. The commotion of her toppling over had caused many sets of eyes to turn their attention on her. Spears not so gently grasped at on her arms and attempted to haul her to a standing position.

"Hagenau!" Vera shouted out in desperation, hoping that the man grabbing her would understand that she was trying to convey a key location for the Nazi army. "It- it is an outpost, yes? Very important position on the Rhine."

Sadly, her rambling didn't seem to faze Speirs and he continued to pull her towards the barn that held the rest of the German POWs. He pushed open the barn door and the two privates on guard spun around quickly. They were not expecting someone to be there so soon; they weren't to be relieved for another few hours or so. Both saluted at the Captain but it went ignored as he pushed Vera into the group of Germans.

"Make sure she doesn't cause trouble." At the mention of the word 'she', both of the guards' eyes widened and they took a closer look at who they believed to be some regular German Lieutenant. A few of the German's looked up as well, those who knew enough English to pick up on the distinction.

"You're a woman? They'll have your head for this, Dietrich." One of the prisoners sneered at Vera.

"Watch yourself, Krause, you don't want them thinking that you're about to attack them...and I'm still your superior." Vera growled back, not allowing herself to show her fear in front of these men.

"You're no superior of mine, you're nothing but a whore who slept her way up the ranks."

No sooner then after those words were uttered; Vera was making her way over to the man who had dared to slander her. She had only taken a few steps when hands were quickly on her; keeping her in place.

"There'll be none of that." The guard grumbled as she realized it was fruitless to fight against his grip. So, she did the next best thing and spat at the man. The other German wiped his face clean as Vera was led to the other side of the barn. They left her hands tied, perhaps afraid that she would try to attack the other prisoner again, and then returned to their posts.

Just when she was starting to feel like the glares from her former allies was getting to be too much, the barn door burst open. Two other Americans filed through the doors causing the two privates to sign in relief. "Thank God you two finally showed up, the Jerry's are starting to turn on each other." One of the guys said, pointing to Vera momentarily before absent mindedly pointing off towards the group.

Malarkey's eyebrows furrowed together at the sight of the German woman with her hands bound together, and seated by herself. "What's with that one?" He gestured to Vera with his carbine. She frowned briefly, wondering what was with the show of ignorance.

"Turns out the Jerry Lieutenant is actually a fraulein, her buddies didn't take too kind to that newsflash. Had to separate them before it came to blows." One of the guards explained as he started to gather up his things.

Vera watched as Donald looked truly surprised and finally she understood. He was under the impression that her true identity was going to remain under wraps, and had been intending to protect the truth for her, but was surprised to learn it was common knowledge now.

"You're joking?! Blondie over there is a dame?" The other man who came in with Malarkey asked in amazement. "How do you figure she hid herself for so long, considering you know…" He trailed off, figuring that everyone knew what he was getting at.

"Pretty sure that's none of our concern, Peters." The red haired Sergeant answered rolling his eyes.

"I know, but it's something that makes you wonder."

"As interesting as that is guys, we have a date with the hot chow line." The two privates started heading for the door when Malarkey called back at them.

"Don't get your hopes up, it's garbage."

"Anything is better than your cooking Mal." Laughter overcame the four men as the new guards settled into position.

"Stupid American playboys."

"Shut your mouth, Krause." Vera said, still angry at what he had said to her. "Your obnoxious voice might get you killed."

"Alright, that's enough you two." Peters said in a bored tone as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. After watching them for a moment longer, he made his way to Malarkey and spoke in a low voice so that Vera couldn't hear what was said.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Peters. You couldn't have done that before we got on duty?" Donald said just loud enough to be heard. He then pointed towards the door. "Well, go on then. Just make it quick."

"You sure you got this?"

"Peters, I think I can take care of a few unarmed prisoners while you take a piss." The redhead scoffed and his partner finally hurried out of the barn. Malarkey watched him leave and as soon as the door was closed, he made his way over to Vera. "Dietrich, what are you doing here? I thought Winters was going to use you for intelligence?"

"He tried, but, uh, his bosses were not so fond of the idea." She said with a wry chuckle. "So, I am hated by the Americans and now I am hated by the Germans as well." Vera swallowed hard, but managed to stay collected. Being a prisoner was going to be hell for her.

Despite her show of strength, Malarkey seemed to see right through it. The expression on his face was one of pity and perhaps even a hint of sadness that hit her harder than Winter's pity had. "Vera," he spoke in an unbelievably gentle voice that reminded her that maybe not everyone hated her. Suddenly, he cracked a large smile. "What's the best part about living in Switzerland?"

"What?" She asked, not expecting that question at all.

"What is the best part about living in Switzerland?" He spoke slower to be sure she would understand. When she didn't respond, he spoke again. "I'm not sure, but the flag is a big pl-" Just as he was finishing the punchline of his joke, Malarkey was grabbed from behind. While he had been distracted talking to Vera, Krause had taken the opportunity to sneak up behind him. He grabbed the American soldier and the struggle for Donald's carbine began. The gun went off twice, Malarkey was trying to shoot the prisoner before he could take the weapon. Vera scrambled to her feet to get out of the way, just in case another shot accidentally went her way. As she watched them, a thought came to her mind. She could make a break for it. They had at least bandaged her up at this point, so maybe she could actually escape this time.

But as she watched Krause reach for the luger that the American had hanging by his side, all thoughts of running disappeared. The man had shown her nothing but kindness, even before he knew she was a woman, how would she forgive herself if she let him die? Springing into action, she leaped forward, her arms going over Krause's head and she suddenly yanked back. The rope still tied about her wrists was pulled tight against his throat.

Krause immediately released Malarkey and tried to get the woman that was crushing his windpipe off of him. Malarkey scrambled to his feet and grabbed at his carbine that fell to the wayside in the struggle, making sure to aim it at the group of remaining Germans, a not so subtle threat to keep them in line.

A gurgling sound escaped Krause's mouth as Vera adjusted her grip on the man, her legs circling around his waist so to make it even harder for the man to throw her off. Just as Krause dropped to his knees from the lack of oxygen, the barn door burst open revealing Captain Winters and Spiers, and a few other men from the company. Both Speirs and Winters sprung into action, grabbing at Vera's arms; and forcibly removing them from around the other German's neck. The other man split between restraining a coughing Krause, and making sure the other Germans didn't get any bright ideas.

Speirs forcibly threw Vera to the ground, and his knee digging into her back as a way to restrain her. The rough impact with the ground caused her to let out a moan of distress, her leg disagreeing with the jarring movement. The sound of Vera's pained moan cause Malarkey to backtrack from aiming down the sights of his weapon to shouting out at the new Captain of Easy company.

"She was saving me! She didn't do anything, sir!"

The pressure on her back lessened considerably and the man looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Yes, sir. The man attacked me and tried to take my weapon. She stopped him."

Vera was heaved back to her feet suddenly, and just as she was placed upright - her leg gave out just as fast. All the jarring from restraining Krause and being thrown around by Speirs had its toll on her. She let out a hiss and grabbed on to the nearest thing, Donald Malarkey. The added weight came as shock, but the Irishman quickly adjusted his center of gravity to accommodate for the both of them. He glanced down to see what was the issue and saw blood seeping through her pant leg; no doubt from the stitches placed by Roe being torn.

"Jesus Christ, Dietrich."

"You're welcome." She gasped.

/

Once again Vera found herself in some house away from the prying eyes of the Americans while the good doctor replaced the torn stitches in her calf.

"You should be staying off your leg, it won't heal otherwise." He commented, pulling a black stitch through her skin and looping it back again.

"You say that like I have a choice in the matter." She muttered, her thick German accent coming through. They both knew that it couldn't be helped no matter what her fate was. Whether she was sent off to some prison camp like Colonel Sink wanted or hauled around with the company for intelligence reasons like Captain Winters wanted, she wasn't going to be staying off her leg as much as the medic wanted.

Vera looked at the closed door to the next room where the officers were once again at it, trying to decide her fate. She hoped that her role in what had happened would do her some favors, but she wasn't in the room this time and she couldn't be sure which way the men were leaning.

"Why'd you do it?" The voice of the Doc brought her attention back to him. "You didn't have to save Donald. You could have tried to escape again. You could have went back to the German army, no one except the prisoners here know who you really are."

Vera scoffed at his words and shook her head. "You like to ask questions. As much as it may surprise you, I have no interest in rejoining the German army, just as I had no true interest in joining in the first place. It was for my own personal reasons, not the Fuhrer's cause, as I told you before."

"I think that begs the question then… if they use you for intelligence, will those personal reasons cause us trouble further down the road?" The medic paused in his work and pulled back to look at her. "You've put those reasons ahead of the lives of American soldiers before, what's to stop you from doing it again?"

Vera stared at her hands, unsure of how she could respond to that. Thankfully, she was saved from having to answer by the door opening. The officers filed back in, their faces expressionless so Vera could not be sure what the final decision was.

"Lieutenant Dietrich, you're in luck." Winters finally said, stopping in front of where she was sitting. She felt the tension in her chest release and she let out a soft gasp. "You are now an asset for the United States Army. Congratulations."


	6. Public Enemy Number One

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait - as per usual! This chapter will be a little shorter then the norm dude to some storytelling booboos, that needed to be fixed.

We would really love to hear your thoughts, either through a review, or shooting us an ask over at .com . These messages from you guys make our day :)

Enjoy!

* * *

If you had told most German soldiers that they would be helping the Americans fight against their own country, they would laugh and call you insane. Maybe spit at your feet and throw in a 'Heil Hitler,' for good measure. Vera on the other hand couldn't have been more ecstatic, maybe a little conflicted, but happy nonetheless. She was happy even though the majority of the eyes that followed her around Foy were hostile. She didn't blame them at all, it would take some time for them to trust a former Lieutenant in Hitler's army. A new uniform wasn't going to change the fact that Vera had killed their own and their allies for years. She tugged the collar of her coat up to cover her face, trying to block out the stares and whispers that were more biting than the cold.

Vera had been gingerly crossing the muddy ground with the crutches that she had been given by the ever-friendly medic, when a threatening voice rose from behind her. "I never thought I'd see the day when the United States Army would supply a fuckin' Kraut with winter clothes instead of their own goddamn soldiers."

She stopped in her tracks. Just because she wasn't expecting their camaraderie or respect it didn't mean that she didn't have to fight the gut reaction to confront whoever it was. Vera took a moment to remind herself that she was grossly outnumbered and outmatched before finally moving her crutches to start hobbling away from the voice.

"Look at the scared little Kraut running away." Vera grit her teeth and kept shuffling along. She also needed to remember that despite the hate and vitriol directed at her, this was far better than fighting for that raving lunatic Germany called its chancellor. She hadn't gotten far when suddenly one of her crutches was being yanked away from under her. The loss of support was almost enough to send her tumbling, but she managed to stay on her feet, grimacing as she put more weight on her leg than she should have.

The American soldier cackled at the sight of the wavering German and his group of buddies quickly joined in with the laughter. Throughout her life, Vera had been a part of a lot of terrifying things; fighting everyday with the constant threat of dying and being discovered as a woman was chief among those, but this was something that scared her in a different way. The malice of the soldiers was something that gnawed at her insides and shook her in a way she couldn't quite explain.

"May I have that back please?" Vera's broken English caused her tormentors to laugh even louder. While she showed no emotion on her face, her body was a different story. Her leg twitched painfully from the weight put on it and she tried to make adjust her weight in a way as to ease the pain. The slight shift wasn't lost on the young man in possession of the crutch, he made a show of leaning on it and let out a mocking groan.

"So tell me, Jerry, what did you have to do to not be shipped off with the rest of your kind?" He asked, leaning in towards her. The fear squeezed tighter in her gut, but she managed to not flinch away. "I'm guessing there were a few favors you could provide the others couldn't."

The suggestion in his tone made her face turn red. It wasn't from embarrassment, but rather anger and the anger was enough to snap her out of her fear. Once more she found herself fighting her instinct to attack the man. "Leave me alone."

"Maybe you can give us a few favors? Then we cou-"

"You heard the lady, leave her alone." A stern voice cut through the hostility that surrounded her. Vera and the other paratroopers looked over at the source. There, surrounded by another group of paratroopers, stood Malarkey.

"What's it to ya, Malark? She's a good for nothing Kraut."

"Normally, I would agree, but that 'no good' Kraut you're harassing saved my life. So, how about you lay off, Collins?" While Malarkey seemed sure with what he was saying, the group behind him didn't seem as convinced but they held steady by his side, ready to back up their friend need be.

While both sides were staring off at one and other, willing the other to bow down first, stuck in between was the ever-confused German. She could understand the anger and uncertainty the one group of Americans had, as much as she hated it. On the other hand, she couldn't fathom the other groups mindset; at least she couldn't understand the short red haired mans. His friends were being loyal to him, more than likely, but Malarkey…

She hadn't done that much to save his life. She had no doubt he would have been able to help himself anyway. That didn't call for him to start feuding with his own men.

"It's not worth it, Collins." Someone finally said, hitting the man's arm as he walked away. One by one, the others followed until only Collins remained, his scowl only growing worse as he stared at her.

"Fucking Kraut." The man spit on the ground in front of Vera and threw the crutch to the ground before storming off. Before Vera had a chance to, Malarkey moved to pick up the crutch for her. He held it out to her and she hesitated for a moment before grabbing it from him.

"You didn't have to do that." She said as she settled it back under her arm, taking the weight off of her leg. Vera watched as Malarkey's friends dispersed as well leaving her alone in the street with him.

"As amusing as it would have been watching you trying to pick it up, I don't think Doc would have appreciated it if you got hurt again." He said with a chuckle, but Vera was already shaking her head.

"No. I mean stand up for me. You should not have done that. All it will do is make the others angry at you too." She was grateful, she couldn't deny that, but she didn't want to show it. The last thing she needed was her presence causing dissention among the ranks. If the Americans began to fight amongst themselves because of her, that was sure to change their minds about keeping her on their side.

"It doesn't matter if they're angry at me. You are a resource we can't afford to lose just because some GI's full of piss and vinegar don't like seeing a Kraut around." Malarkey scoffed. Vera barely caught the hurt look on his face as he looked away. Evidently he didn't appreciate her lack of gratitude. "The way I see it, there's no way we can go on fighting this war with our translators spread so thin."

That made sense to Vera and suddenly she felt unbelievably stupid for not realizing that his defense of her had been because of her usefulness. From her experience, German soldiers with an understanding of the English language were in high demand in the German army. It was why she had been chosen for many operations, any English documents she could translate provided the 3rd Reich with useful intel. Based on what she knew from the meeting regarding her fate, it was the same here. There were two, maybe three, soldiers in the 2nd Battalion who had enough of an understanding of the German language to be of any use. It wasn't the greatest arrangement having them run from company to company to translate everything. Since she was to be Major Winter's pet project, she was going to remain with 2nd Battalion to assist with these translations as well as provide any other information she can.

"Also, it's nice to have something easy on the eyes to look at for a change."

When those words were uttered, Vera's thought process came to a complete halt. Her cheeks burned and her mouth loss function, so she just stood there with mouth agape – watching the man as he smirked at her. She had been told growing up that she was attractive, but that was usually followed up with a comment about how she should act more ladylike – that she would be gorgeous then. And that was before the war. Now she was dirty, injured, and just as rough looking as every other soldier there. This time, as she floundered in her confusion, he provided no further comment, just a quick wink before he walked away.

"Hey, Fraulein!" The evident call for her attention shook her out of her stupor. One of the men from the meeting was waving her down, his bushy eyebrows perched expectantly on his forehead. Vera readjusted her grip on her crutches, and began the labor intensive journey across the mud-covered road. It would be a miracle if she reached him without slipping and making a fool of herself.

After a few painstaking seconds, the young German woman crossed the muddy terrain with only one or two close calls. Once she arrived at the Intelligence officer's side, he quickly ushered her into a modest country home. The opening and closing of the door caused the rooms occupants to glance up from the table they surrounded. She recognized most of the faces from the meeting as well and once again she found herself worrying that they had changed their minds.

"Good she's here," The colonel with white hair said. "Finally we can get this shit figured out."

The German lieutenant glanced to the man beside her, trying to gauge what she was to do. Simply step up to the table and peek at the papers? It wasn't like before when she was privy to such meetings. The man with the bushy eyebrows, Nixon, gently nudged her forward and she braced herself against her crutches, expecting the worst. Winters pulled out the lone chair at the table for her to take a seat at. She stiffly made her way over to the table and slid into the offered chair. She was all too aware of the looks she was getting, but couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief as she finally took her weight off the injured leg.

Her relief was only momentary, however, as the older man began speaking again. "Captain Spiers has mentioned to us that you have information about Haguenau." Colonel Sink spoke, breaking the all too uncomfortable silence that once again filled the room as she had moved to her seat. Vera quickly glanced over at the mentioned captain, surprised that he had taken her words to heart. As the expectant looks that were turned on her started to grow impatient, she quickly began speaking.

"They- they know that this point is important." If Vera was ever self conscious about how heavy her accent was whenever she spoke English, it was now. Lieutenants, Captains, a Major and a Colonel were now waiting with bated breath to hear what she had to say about the outpost sitting on the Rhine. "You… we… need to cross over the Rhine? Yes? And they need you to s-"

"We know this, Ms. Dietrich. That is why we are going to be heading there." The Colonel shifted in his seat, looking incredibly unimpressed. "Tell me you've got more than that so I don't regret this decision. I've already got the brass on me for letting a female Kraut in the army. I can only imagine the uproar if nothing comes from it."

"Y-yes, sir. I…" She was sitting on the edge of her chair now, to look closer at the maps. "I can help. I meant it." Vera pulled the map closer to her and pointed at the town. "The last I heard, they are holed up in these buildings, a little ways back from the river. The… th-the officers? The building they meet in-"

"The headquarters." Winters helpfully supplied and she nodded quickly.

"Yes, the headquarters. It is in a building further back, closer to the trees." Her finger moved past the buildings to point at the woods she had been talking about. "There are two or three 88's hidden in the trees here. I am not positive how many. They were discussing whether they had wanted to bring another one in or not." Vera lastly pointed at the tracks further back about 10 miles or so. "And there is a railway gun on this track. They move it up and down the track every so often so as to not be an easy target."

"And how do you know this information?" One of the platoon leaders asked, looking from her to his superiors. "How can we really trust she knows what she is talking about?"

"I am a Lieutenant, in case you have forgotten. Same as you." Vera grumbled as she sat up straighter. The looks from around the room reminded her that her pride could easily result in her death. Still, she didn't back down this time. Pushing aside her nerves, she met the gaze of each man in the room. If she was going to stay with the Americans, she didn't want to spend the rest of the war timidly hiding away. "There was a chance we were going to help support that outpost and so the officers were meeting to discuss what is there."

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Lieutenant Dietrich?" Major Winters asked.

"They'll have snipers, of course, keeping an eye out to make sure no one crosses, and mortars. Besides that," Vera gave a shrug. "It would be just your average soldiers, just trying to hold the line. I do not doubt they will not go out of their way to attack."

"How come?"

"This last push into Belgium? We may have had surprise on our side, but now that you have broken that offensive… The German Army did not have much left in it before and now… we would not have the resources to pull off another attack like that." Even as she spoke, the magnitude of her own words hit her. After so many years fighting and surviving, it seemed that the end was finally in sight. She felt breathless and continued in a soft voice. "We- they will be on the defensive, but it is simply a matter of time now. This was the last hope and now they have lost that. They will just want to survive to see the end of the war now. Soon, you will cross over the Rhine and into Germany."

The men in the room with her were silent as they thought on what she had said. When they looked at her now, the glares were gone. It seemed as though the news of the imminent end of the war was exactly the kind of information she could provide to make hate her just a little less.


End file.
